Ministry of Planning reviews the "Guide to a Gender Responsive Sustainable Development Plan" , offers it on official website.

08 March 2022

The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development reviews the "Guide to a Gender Responsive Sustainable Development Plan", which was previously made available by the Ministry on its website.
The plan was prepared in cooperation with the Macroeconomic Reform and Stability Project funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, said that the "Guide to a Gender Responsive Sustainable Development Plan" aims to integrate the social dimension into development plans so that the programs, projects, and activities developed by government agencies within the framework of the investment plan guarantee equality and equal opportunities among social groups. The guide also aims to increase the rate of women's participation in economic activity to reach 35% by 2030, compared to the current rate of 14.3%.El-Said added that the guide places Egypt at the forefront of the countries in the region that give top priority to integrating the plan that responds to social groups in all development programs and interventions, through an integrated process. These processes include monitoring qualitative gaps between different groups, developing plans and programs that meet these gaps, as well as following up and evaluating their development impact in all sectors, with priority given to financing projects that take into account these groups.On the importance of the guide, El-Said explained that it consists in directing government agencies towards implementing development programs and projects that work to implement the state's vision in the field of social care for women and children, giving priority in funding to these programs and projects in sustainable development plans.

El-Said added that all legislation and strategies related to women, children, and people with special needs were discussed and reviewed, which resulted in the development of an integrated matrix for gender-responsive planning, including 143 development interventions, and 146 indicators to assess the performance of these interventions. El-Said explained that the guide deals in detail with the conceptual framework of gender-responsive planning, through the concept of gender-responsive planning and its objectives, and the expected effects of its application, as well as the technical tools that are used in the framework of gender-responsive planning.El-Said referred to the state's efforts to empower women, represented in the establishment of equal opportunities units at the level of government institutions and some private sector institutions, which aim to ensure a safe work environment that prevents discrimination and to improve the conditions of Egyptian women in all fields.El-Said addressed the Women’s Health Initiative, which aims to expand the geographical scope of services for early detection of breast tumors and comprehensive examination for women, and the initiative targets 25 million women at the level of the Republic, also referring to the efforts of the state that helped mitigate the effects of the pandemic.It also aims to provide microfinance, through the development of microfinance balances directed to women, and the microfinance sector has significantly contributed to supporting women, as females accounted for 62% of the number of beneficiaries.

To download the Gender Responsive Sustainable Development Plan Manual through the link: